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KANATA, ONT.—Before they disintegrated in the spring, the Maple Leafs sent a jolt of fear through the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins, it turned out, could outlast the Leafs, and they could out-tough them in front of the net. But they couldn’t outskate them. Toronto’s speed was a formidable weapon.

So if Toronto’s fans were concerned that the Leafs were compromising that particular advantage after an off-season that saw them part ways with the fleet-skating likes of Matt Frattin, Clarke MacArthur and Mikhail Grabovski, the ongoing pre-season schedule has offered some tantalizing glimpses of one potential addition to the roster possessed of superior pace.

Mason Raymond, an established NHLer with world-class wheels who is playing with Toronto on a tryout, scored his second goal in as many pre-season games in Thursday night’s 3-2 win over the Senators. How Raymond scored was a great example of how a special kind of skater can turn a promising rush into a point-blank goal. With Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk driving the left wing with the puck during the second period, Raymond simply beat Ottawa defenceman Chris Wideman in a footrace to the front of the Senators net. Once there, and with a heads-up van Riemsdyk watching Raymond’s movements intently, Raymond simply kept his stick on the ice and redirected his teammate’s cross-ice pass past goaltender Craig Anderson.

If Raymond is battling the likes of Carter Ashton for the job of Toronto’s third-line left winger, he appears to be leading by open ice. Raymond, who assisted on Nazem Kadri’s second-period power-play goal that tied the game 1-1, also contributed on the third-period winner, screening Senators goaltender Nathan Lawson on a shot from the point, the rebound of which was deposited into the net by Dave Bolland.

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Asked if Raymond had further separated himself from the pack of would-be Leafs with his latest star turn, Leafs coach Randy Carlyle sounded like a believer in the merits of Raymond’s gifts.

“I don’t know whether he’s separating himself anymore — he always has separated himself with that (speed),” said Carlyle.

The game was the pre-season home opener for the Senators, who were playing at the arena currently known as the Canadian Tire Centre (and formerly known as ScotiaBank Place, Corel Centre and Palladium). Played before a crowd that included the usual liberal smattering of Leaf fans in blue-and-white sweaters (albeit very little of the usual venom associated with the Battle of Ontario), the Leafs got another look at goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who played the opening 20 minutes before he was relieved by Drew MacIntyre.

Bernier said he suffered an undisclosed injury in Thursday’s morning skate. While he had hoped to play the entire game on Thursday, his body “felt worse” as the game went on.

Bernier, who made 10 saves on 11 shots, was beaten high to the blocker side by Fredrik Claesson’s one-timer from the top of the left circle. He wasn’t the only Leaf to ask out with an injury. Carlyle said Kadri took one faceoff in the third period before determining that his bruised hand, apparently suffered while catching an airborne puck, was not fit to finish the proceedings. The coach said that X-rays on the hand were negative.

“I don’t know whether any of you guys have played baseball before, where every once in a while you get a (ball) inside the thumb area,” Carlyle said. “There’s a little bit of bruising in there.”

If not finding himself a guaranteed contract in the off-season has bruised Raymond’s ego, he isn’t taking his disappointment onto the ice. After spending the previous six seasons as a regular with the Vancouver Canucks, the realities of a shrinking salary cap have left Raymond and a long list of established veterans looking for work.

“It’s different. . . . You’ve got to make the most of it,” Raymond said. “As far as I’m concerned, every year you’re trying out whether you’ve got a contract or not. . . . You learn quickly you’ve got to go out there and earn your spot every night.”

Two nights into his pre-season, Raymond is backing up that sentiment with bursts of blurring acceleration. GM Dave Nonis has vowed to do the necessary salary-cap manoeuvring to keep Raymond around should he be deemed worthy of a job, but there’s an ever-growing feeling of inevitability to his inclusion in the opening-night lineup.

As Carlyle said of Raymond earlier in camp: “We feel very fortunate to have him here.”

On Thursday night it became clearer that they’ll be missing something vital if they don’t keep him here.

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